Chapter 10: Safe Warehouse

"Nan Nan, over here, over here." Xie Yuanyuan's voice could be heard from far away, and An Yinan also waved her hand in that direction.

Zhang Qian nodded at An Yinan.

"The State-run Restaurant has braised pork today, six cents a bowl, and they don't even require coupons, but you can only buy one portion per person. I got a number for you; if you don't want it, I'll pay for it." When Xie Yuanyuan spoke of the braised pork, her eyes sparkled and her mouth made a swallowing motion, which made An Yinan want to laugh.

Braised pork, meat buns—she really did want to buy more. The autumn harvest was coming soon, and if she bought more, she would have an excuse to take them out to eat.

Otherwise, if she kept taking things out without leaving the village, it would make people suspicious.

"I want it, how could I not want braised pork? Thank you, Yuanyuan, for waiting in line for me." An Yinan smiled and handed each of them a piece of fruit candy.

Although Zhang Qian seemed very cold and aloof, and even though he was considered an acquaintance to the two of them, there was still a feeling of him keeping people at a distance.

Yet, such a cold person was actually extremely fond of sweets.

Don't ask me how I know!

The satisfied expression on his face every time he ate candy—any sugar lover could tell, alright?

"Number 37, number 37, pick up your meal." The clerk at the small window shouted loudly.

Xie Yuanyuan grabbed the wooden tag and hurried over, "Miss, that's our number."

"One bowl of braised pork, one bowl of white rice. Alright, take it away." The clerk checked the slip, took back the tag, and handed over the food.

Xie Yuanyuan gave a sweet smile and hurried back with the food.

"It smells so good, much better than what my mom makes." She disparaged her own mother without hesitation.

An Yinan smiled, "It seems there's no limit on the number of buns and Steamed Buns, let's buy some to take back in a bit. The autumn harvest is coming soon, so we should store up some fat."

She had a space and wasn't afraid of things spoiling, but she didn't plan on buying too much.

Yesterday, the Captain gave them some reserve grain; it was the amount approved by the commune, only a small cloth bag for each person, and it was all coarse grain.

Their timing for moving to the countryside was quite good; in two months, after the autumn harvest was finished and the public grain was handed over, the village would distribute grain.

If they had moved to the countryside after the grain distribution, they would likely have had to go hungry for half a year.

"I'll buy a few to take with me in a bit," Zhang Qian said in agreement.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuanyuan had already gone to battle with the braised pork.

Before long, Zhang Qian and An Yinan's braised pork was also served.

An Yinan bought ten more Steamed Buns and ten meat buns, packed them into a clean cloth bag, and brought them back along with the braised pork.

"Nan Nan, why did you buy so much?" Xie Yuanyuan widened her eyes, rubbing her stuffed little belly.

Today's braised pork didn't require coupons, but the price was ten cents higher.

For the three of them, who weren't exactly short on money, no one cared about that.

Naturally, they ate to their heart's content.

An Yinan moved half of the braised pork into her lunchbox, then began to eat the white rice with the braised pork.

Not to mention, whether it was because she had been hungry for too long or because the raw ingredients of this era were good, the braised pork didn't taste greasy at all; instead, it left a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

"Beibei and I are two people. We don't share meals with the Educated Youth Dormitory; we cook for ourselves and stock up on enough grain." An Yinan swallowed her rice before explaining in a leisurely manner.

Zhang Qian and Xie Yuanyuan both understood the situation. They had been sharing meals with the Educated Youth Dormitory for the past two days, and the food they ate depended on the taste of whoever was cooking that day.

After the three finished their meal, Zhang Qian and Xie Yuanyuan each bought five meat buns, preparing to have them as a snack when they got hungry.

"Nan Nan, keep my buns for me!" Xie Yuanyuan blinked her large, expressive eyes, resolute and decisive.

An Yinan nodded, "Alright."

Just then, Zhang Qian also handed over his buns, then took the pot out of An Yinan's basket and placed it into his own large basket.

==!

Had she become their warehouse now?

A warehouse with a security password, at that.

Before she was reborn, An Yinan had passed by a farm tool shop that had all kinds of farm tools, iron pots, iron buckets, water kettles, and coal stoves.

She had prepared three or four of each, and who knew that just after moving to the countryside, they would come in handy.

The three of them had nothing else they needed to buy, so they walked to where the ox cart was in the village. Old Niu was squatting on the ground smoking, the Tobacco Pouch glowing red and then gray.

"You three came back early. There's still a while to go; if there's anything you want to buy, you can still go look around." Old Niu squatted under the big willow tree without moving.

An Yinan took a meat bun, wrapped it in newspaper, and handed it to Old Niu.

"Old Niu, you've been waiting for us for half the day and haven't had lunch yet, right? Eat a bun to pad your stomach first."

Old Niu quickly stood up and pushed it back.

"I'm already collecting your ox cart fare, how can I take your bun? This stuff is expensive, you should hurry and take it back for your younger brother to eat."

A smile appeared on Old Niu's face; the expressions of a farmer are rarely hidden.

"I brought buns for Beibei; this one was specifically brought for you, so please just accept it."

An Yinan stuffed the bun into Old Niu's hand and, without waiting for him to refuse, turned and returned to Xie Yuanyuan's side.

Originally, she had wanted to buy a bicycle, but given the location of Quanshui Village, a bicycle wasn't convenient. The road down the mountain was easy to travel, but the road up the mountain could only be walked while pushing it.

"Why did you buy so many newspapers?" Xie Yuanyuan discovered in surprise that An Yinan had packed half a small basket of old newspapers.

"To paste the walls, otherwise the dirt walls will easily shed dirt. I'm pasting them with newspapers in advance."

An Yinan looked at the young miss and young master, speechless; these two really didn't know anything.

Zhang "Doesn't Know Anything" Qian indicated that he had learned something new again.

But looking at An Yinan's expression, why did he feel like he was being looked down upon again?

They were both people from the City who had moved to the countryside, so why was the difference so big?

"Should I have bought some too?" Xie Yuanyuan immediately reacted and decided that next time she would definitely follow Nan Nan closely and absolutely not separate. They had only been separated for half a day, and she had already bought fewer things...

If An Yinan knew Xie Yuanyuan's thoughts at this moment, she would definitely regret it.

From then on, An Yinan had an extra little follower, and the kind that couldn't be shaken off...

An Yinan rubbed her aching forehead, "I bought them for you, treat me to a meal later."

Yuanyuan was just about ready to lift An Yinan up; the little girl had a very likable personality, but most of the time she acted like a fool—though to say the child was stupid wouldn't be right either, as one could see a thing or two from her attitude toward Sun Xiaoqin.

Could this be a natural sixth sense?

Speak of the devil, and the devil appears.

"What did you three buy? With these baskets and baskets?" Sun Xiaoqin swayed her waist as she walked over from a distance.

Qian Zhao did not come out; his circumstances were not good, and he was not the type of person to take advantage of others.

While speaking, Sun Xiaoqin reached to lift the cover cloth on An Yinan's basket, but An Yinan raised her hand and slapped it away without mercy.

With a "slap" sound, Sun Xiaoqin felt a sharp pain.

"Ah! Why are you hitting people?" Sun Xiaoqin rubbed her hand; the back of her hand was bright red, and one could see it was already a bit swollen.

An Yinan sneered; this person really didn't learn her lesson.

"Whoever touches my things, I'll chop off their hand!"

"You can try it!"

That smile, falling into Sun Xiaoqin's eyes, made her suddenly recall the feeling of suffocation from yesterday, and she hurriedly dodged the three of them, going to the other side of the ox cart.